The plans to regulate taxis operations in Oman continue to be an ‘easier said than done story’ despite concerted efforts initiated by various authorities. The Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOC) has said that the new Land Transport Law will have steps to regulate taxis services, including a company to operate a particular type of services. Recently, the ministry held a seminar for conventional taxi operators to find ways to streamline services. “There will be more scope for mobile and online-based services,” according to Faisal Ali Abdullah al Manthri of Daleel Solutions, who has been working on such projects related to app-based cab services.
The Ministry of Tourism has invited tenders to start a taxi project that will operate mainly from star hotels, with the last date of submission to be this week. Several Omani SMEs are participating in this project, which is expected to be launched later this year once the winner is selected, confirmed a Omani youth who is participating in the project. Sayyid Adil al Mardas al Busaidi, adviser of tourism affairs, Ministry of Tourism, said the bids has to go through the evaluation stages and he can’t comment further.
The metered taxis project at Muscat Airport has been not able to meet deadlines for its launch over the last three years. An official at Oman Airports Management Company (OAMC) said the execution of this system has been delayed and it has been linked to separate parking lots for the ‘orange and white’ taxis. “We still hope to solve this problem through a dialogue amicably.”
However, speaking to Observer, Ahmed (name changed) an airport taxi operator said the metered service was introduced for a limited period recently, but later discontinued. He said as per the ‘meter’, a passenger travelling to Ruwi-Darsait-Muttrah had to shell out RO 12.4 under normal traffic conditions. Under the current fixed fare system, airport taxis charge RO 10 for the same distance. A trip to Al Khuwair would cost RO 9.2 against the current fixed rate of RO 8. Minimum fares start at RO 6.
Ahmed and his colleagues welcomed the meter system. “We will appreciate any step launched to improve services, but our concerns should be also addressed. We still have problems with outside taxis and stealing business.”
He said the way some of these operators solicit with visitors is not healthy and it could be wrongly interpreted. “Most of visitors to Oman come from cities that have a better taxi system. They would certainly not appreciate any means that are unprofessional,” he said.
Airport taxi operators claim that things get worse during night when there is a rush of arriving passengers. They say at times situations turn nasty due to heated exchanges with outside taxis.
Meanwhile, an orange taxi operator said the overall business is going through tough times and what we are just looking for some customers to sustain our lives. He added that there should be space for everyone to operate their services. “Metered taxis will be expensive and not all customers may be able to afford, but there should be clarity on prices so that no passenger is charged unreasonably,” Mohammed al Balushi, an orange taxi operator.
He felt there should be more actions against all illegal operators as they are not safe even for passengers. “Things are not easy these days with hiked fuel prices and insurance premiums. Meter taxis will not do any good to both the customers and the operators” according Yahya, who has been driving taxis since the nineties.
Source: OmanObserver